Celebrating life at Barchester

We always have a great time when our friends from neighbouring homes join us for our community events in the local church hall. 

This month was our annual Easter get together, and we had a fantastic day enjoying homemade food, live entertainment and a good old-fashioned knees-up.

There were lots and lots of tasty treats on offer at our bake sale this month. We raised money for the Barchester Foundation and had so much fun doing so. 

Family members and staff donated delicious homemade baking and staff and residents tended to the stall. What a lovely afternoon for a great cause.

We love when our friends come to visit for games, especially when it’s one of our favourites (Mega Scrabble). 

Our pals from our local daycare facility unfortunately beat us on our home ground, so we need to get some practice in before their next visit.

We held an Easter Trail over the Easter period and for those children that could not join us and for their siblings, we gifted The Treehouse children's hospice in Ipswich a hamper of Easter eggs for them to share and enjoy. East Anglia's Children's Hospices - EACH.

Margaret, our resident Ambassador, and David, our Deputy resident Ambassador, both handed over the Easter Eggs and a card.

We’ve had a fantastic day filled with music, laughter, and a real sense of community spirit. Residents were treated to a lively performance by the brilliant Sloejam, who had everyone clapping and smiling – even Denzel the delightful therapy dog couldn’t resist tapping his paw to the beat.

Our Head Chef prepared a fabulous, traditionally English meal, and received particular praise for his incredible Roast Beef!

St George’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate English heritage. Did you know? Although St George is England’s patron saint, he wasn’t actually English – he was born in what is now modern-day Turkey!

Wishing everyone a joyful and proud St George’s Day – from our Henford House Care Home - Barchester Healthcare family to yours.

Before coming to Cubbington Mill Dami looked at our Google reviews and expressed she was ‘ready to pack her bags and move in!’’ She had never read such ‘’beautiful testimonials’’. 

Student Nurse Dami left her heartfelt thanks in the way of boxes of chocolates and goodies with a dedicated card to the team and nurses who have taught her the Cubbington Mill way, while completing her 1st year's placement hours. Dami is sad to be leaving Cubbington Mill, but we will stay in contact, and hopefully see her soon when her placement is completed in 2 years' time. 

Good luck Dami, thank you for showing caring, person-centred care to our residents over the last few months, and giving the staff a giggle each day you were working!

The Great Spring Clean, something which we are all either doing or have done already this year. Our residents reminisced with Jan Millward poetry, about the traditional techniques and products that they would be familiar with, which evoked many wonderful memories for all who came along!

Jan’s sessions always encourage everyone to share special memories and anecdotes from way back when. Thank you to all who joined us, but special thanks to the wonderful Jan for another great session.

To help celebrate Easter, our group of crafters fashioned their own Easter Bonnets, and then tried them on for size. Even the staff were intrigued and inspired as well! 

Easter bonnets are a colourful tradition associated with Easter celebrations, symbolising new beginnings and renewal, particularly in the Christian faith. They are worn as a symbol of faith and joy during the Easter season, often adorned with flowers, ribbons, and other decorations, representing the arrival of spring and the promise of new life.

We are extremely grateful to our wonderful friends from 874 - Sherborne Air Cadet Squadron for organising a special delivery of Easter Eggs and treats for all our residents. 

On duty, we had the Commanding Officer, Flying Officer Helen Green, and her group of cadets who were keen to meet those who live with us and talk to those who have served themselves. They all enjoyed delivering eggs to the residents by hand, wishing all of us a very Happy Easter!

Our residents were able to pick their favourite treats from an impressively varied selection on offer and have a chat with the cadets, all of whom were impressed with their smart presentation and interesting stories.

On Easter Sunday morning, we were happy to welcome once again the Whittlesea Motorcycle Club to the home. Approximately 17 motorcycles of all makes turned out for this very sunny morning. The residents and families were very interested in looking at the bikes and chatting to their owners. It brought back some emotional memories for some of the residents.

We would like to thank the bike club for giving up their time; we will no doubt see you again, to those that came, and to those who bought raffle tickets and donated money to the table-top. We raised a total of £111.00 so thank you very much. 

We at Werrington on 23rd April were delighted to accept an invitation for staff and residents to join staff and residents at Longueville Court also joined by staff and residents from Hampton Grove, in order to celebrate St George’s Day. 

We quite often meet up; being at Barchester homes so close to each other and residents enjoy being out and about meeting new people that they may meet up with again. It gives them a bit of a network, so when we go visit the different homes, the residents know people, which makes them feel like they belong.

We all had a brilliant time, lots of nice food and light refreshments, the music got us all dancing and singing. We most definitely celebrated St George’s Day in a very lovely way and look forward to many more meet-ups. 

On Wednesday 16th April, six Barchester staff members went out on a sponsored walk to raise money for the Barchester Foundation. Donations are going to help older and disabled adults. We walked together with staff from Longueville Court and Hampton Grove. Unfortunately, the weather was not resident-friendly so we left them in the warm. 

Starting at 10.00am on a very blustery day, we took the Ham Trail, which took us a fair way around Ferry Meadows. As you can see from the map, it left us certainly feeling liked we’d done the walk.

We raised £40 at Werrington Lodge so we’d like to thank those who sponsored us.

This afternoon, residents enjoyed a virtual tea tasting experience hosted by Clipper. The session was both enjoyable and educational, offering insight into how Clipper was founded and its commitment to organic and fair trade practices. Residents learnt that Clipper started in the UK and has grown to become a globally recognised brand known for its ethical sourcing and high-quality teas.

As part of the session, residents sampled a variety of tea blends. Some enjoyed the unique flavours, while others appreciated the soothing aromas. The experience was shared throughout the home, with several residents viewing the event on their personal devices—some alongside loved ones—making the experience interactive and meaningful.

Our ladies and gents at Sherwood Lodge have had a wonderful day, with lots of visitors, including the Easter bunny who delivered Easter chocolate to each resident.

Our carers and hospitality team put on a marvellous Easter Egg-stravaganza for all residents and their loved ones.

The home held an Easter Afternoon Tea for all to enjoy and an egg-citing Easter Egg hunt.

We certainly do and so do our residents.

Today we had Ian in the home performing and filling the air with songs and music from all eras. We had a good old sing song and our residents and staff's dancing shoes were firmly on.

Doris hit a milestone birthday in April. Doris became 90 years young and has celebrated with her lovely family, residents and staff. 

Doris was so rightly spoilt with gifts and a homemade birthday cake. A special day for a special lady.

The residents enjoyed their intergenerational afternoon with Live the Beat. We had a drop-in session for carers and their children. 

The residents sang along with the children as they gave out different props to go with the songs. The residents get so much joy out of seeing the children.

The residents enjoyed a nice get together at their Easter Coffee Morning. We had lots of Easter treats and washed down with fresh coffee. 

The residents have been decorating their home with nice Easter decorations.

The fast-paced pressure of modern life leaves many feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and on the edge of burnout. Sound therapy can help ease stress, enhance mood and have a positive impact on health and well-being, creating a sense of calm, whilst enabling you to enjoy life in a more balanced and peaceful way. We enjoyed an afternoon of calm and tranquillity as we listened to the relaxing sounds.

What a fantastic day we had celebrating Easter with our wonderful residents and the local community!
We were joined by lots of smiling faces for an exciting Easter Egg Hunt with a special visit from the Easter Bunny! The garden was full of laughter and little footsteps searching for chocolatey treasures.

Our Children's Colouring Contest was a huge hit—judged by four of our lovely residents, who had the tough task of picking just three amazing winners. Every entry was full of creativity and colour!

There was fun, smiles, dancing, and chocolate all around—a true celebration of joy, community, and the Easter spirit.

We had a lovely morning sat outside soaking up the springtime sunshine today, it’s so good to be able to use our outside spaces more and more as the weather improves. 

Everybody agreed that seeing the blue sky and feeling the suns warmth makes you feel so much better, it was great to be able to hear so many stories being shared and also to welcome a visitor who joined us.

Just to finish it off, we also saw two swallows flying just above the building….maybe summer is closer than we think.

Some of our lovely ladies enjoyed a visit to the local Beetlebank farm to see the variety of animals they have there.

Particular favourites were the donkeys and the baby goats, although there was a rather large amount of cuteness around, making it difficult to pick a favourite.

Our ladies had a fabulous picnic lunch prepared by our wonderful catering team.
Everybody really enjoyed their day and can’t wait for the next visit.

One of our amazing carers, Hanna, surprised our residents by bringing in her rescued pet rabbits over the Easter period.

Everybody loves animals and the smiles on the faces of everybody says more than any words can, plenty of snuggles and cuddles to go around for everybody. Hanna has promised that she’ll bring her rabbits back soon for another visit. We can’t wait. 

Some more fun Easter activities this week at Hunters. First letting our creative sides free by making fantastic Easter cards to share with loved ones. Designing, cutting and sticking, lots of fun and some beautiful results.

Then a bit of an Easter tradition here at Hunters....making chocolate rice crispy Easter cakes! Such a great time mixing and crafting these little treats, even the Easter bunny joined in with the fun and laughter. They looked delicious and were shared with other residents and singers from the Mindsong group later that day!
Well done everyone, the smiles say it all.

We had a wonderful tutorial this month from Karen from The Florist Garden. Our residents were shown how to create their own environmentally friendly oasis, with which they made a display for their rooms with fresh spring stems. 

Everyone said what a fun time they had, working together to make something beautiful. Our wonderful home chef delivered a warm homemade cake, straight from the oven to have with our afternoon tea: an absolutely delicious way to finish the afternoon!!

Mother’s Day started with a card and chocolate for all of our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and all the wonderful women who love and support their families and friends unconditionally. Our residents were thrilled with their gift- Anne said it was an unexpected surprise, and Catherine that she felt thoroughly spoilt!

That afternoon, we enjoyed our afternoon cream tea with family and friends, accompanied by the very talented Pianist Graham Tickle, who played songs to tap your feet to! It was a truly fabulous Mother’s Day for all of our residents.

It was an honour to be invited to the unveiling of the 'Green Spaces and Waterways' mural by local artist Emily Bowers, commissioned by Our Place, Our Art and SKDC. 

Emily came to The Cedars to talk to our residents and gain their insight and memories of Bourne, and we are delighted to hear that the mural includes residents Sheila Stubley and Barbara Coleman as children scrumping for apples!

Sheila really enjoyed the event, saying how beautiful the mural was and how kind they were, 'we couldn't have had a better welcome'. Of Emily's speech she commented on how well Emily presented herself,  enjoyed her tea and cake, and was tapping her feet to the music of local group Pocket Cadence, who 'will go far with such a lovely voice'. Sheila had a wonderful afternoon. Thank you Emily, for including her in your amazing event.

What an occasion Easter was in our home, a highlight being an Easter-themed high tea! Lots of loved ones and visitors joined for the event, and it has been so splendid having so many visitors to our home, especially this weekend! 

Thank you to our Chef Ian for producing this afternoon's event, the staff supporting this weekend’s activities and Cheryl for supporting further activities this afternoon. We have had church services, quizzes and Easter hymns. All areas of the home have had Easter wishes, Easter activities and puzzle packs, Easter cards, chocolates and tipples, bubbles and baileys. Looking forward to unwinding with Easter Monday in our home, lots of walks in our grounds hopefully and still so much chocolate to consume.

Thank you to Belister and Justo (two of our nurses), their sons Francis and Franklin (our carer staff) and family and to all their choir (just look at how many (30+ choir attendees!) took time out of their Easter weekend to provide an Easter service and choir to our residents!) It was so upbeat and moving!! 

Thank you once again for your kind donation of toiletries and chocolates to our home!! Huge thank you to the Memory Lane carer-team who managed to get all the residents to this afternoon’s entertainment in the main lounge and to Hostess Cheryl, who came into the activities team to help this event run so smoothly!

Secondly, to this Saturday event, the following Tuesday, when two of our staff members from Seventh Day Adventist Church came on site for staff training, they kindly did an impromptu morning song in our Main Lounge whilst residents finished their breakfast and others helped activities put up decorations for St George’s Day. It was such a lovely, surprising start to our days. 

We started our Easter celebrations with our Prize Bingo night and invited friends and families into our home.  We enjoyed a fantastic evening playing one of our favourite games and winning some fantastic prizes donated by local businesses, families and friends. Our last fundraiser was for the Barchester Foundation. It was a great night - residents sat waiting for a special visitor not knowing who it was going to be! Lilly, the pet lamb, came with her lunch, so residents could join in and feed her. They thought it was fantastic and brought back so many memories for many of them. One lady couldn’t believe her eyes when Lilly the lamb walked into her room. She started telling me the stories of all her pet lambs and how she would sneak them into her bed without her mother knowing. 

We have been busy making our Easter Bonnets ready for our Good Friday parade. With our lucky resident Mary winning a beautiful egg in a cup, she couldn’t believe it when our chef chose her hat for the winning Bonnet. We also decorated our Easter Cake with long conversations about the meaning of 11 marzipan balls and why not 12. Peggy enjoyed telling everyone the story.

Celebrating Easter with fun games, egg decorating then rolling them, first and second prizes awarded. The weather didn’t stop our egg hunt ! Lots of fun and laughter
Easter Sunday, residents enjoyed a quiet morning! Until the visit from the Easter chick. It was so lovely seeing residents laughing and having fun with special treats from us all. With another Easter over and special memories are made, on to the next event to make more Field House memories.